Overview
- Takaichi won the parliamentary selection with 237 of 465 votes in the lower house, becoming Japan’s 104th prime minister and its first woman to hold the office.
- The Liberal Democratic Party secured support through a fresh alliance with the conservative Japan Innovation party and additional backing from unaffiliated lawmakers.
- Following the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba’s government ahead of the vote, Takaichi formed a cabinet that was formally approved by Emperor Naruhito.
- In her first press conference, she said she will attend upcoming ASEAN and APEC summits and meet U.S. President Donald Trump to deepen the bilateral security alliance.
- She signaled plans to review defense and security documents and budgets, discuss constitutional changes including Article 9, and tighten immigration, as U.S. media framed her rise as a rightward shift aligned with Trump-era politics.